Two former Georgia election workers who sued Rudy Giuliani for defamation have been awarded $148 million in damages by a jury, according to reports.
The former election workers endured racist threats and harassment after they were targeted with false conspiracy theories pushed by Giuliani and other allies of former President Donald Trump. They will both receive approximately $75 million apiece.
From ABC 7:
The damages verdict follows emotional testimony from Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, who tearfully described becoming the target of a false conspiracy theory pushed by Giuliani and other Republicans as they tried to keep then-President Donald Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election.
Giuliani had already been found liable in the case and previously conceded in court documents that he falsely accused the women of ballot fraud. Even so, the former New York City mayor continued to repeat his baseless allegations about the women in comments to reporters outside the Washington, D.C., courthouse this week.
Giuliani’s defense claimed that while he was wrong to push he false claims, he was not responsible for the harassment the women faced, saying it was a right-wing website that published security video of the women counting ballots.
Giuliani still has more legal headaches facing him. He’s fighting criminal charges in the Georgia which accuse Trump and 18 others of working to subvert the results of the 2020 election. He has pleaded not guilty in the case.
Jurors in the defamation case heard recordings of Giuliani accusing the women of sneaking in ballots in suitcases, counting ballots multiple times and tampering with voting machines.
